Former Site of Anhui Guild Hall

　　The Anhui Guild Hall was a well-known guild hall in old Beijing. It is situated on Housunyuan Park Lane in Xuanwu District, Beijing. It was originally part of the "Sun Park" residence of the late Ming and early Qing scholar Sun Chengze. On May 25, 2006, the Anhui Guild Hall, as a historical building from the Qing Dynasty, was approved by the State Council to be included in the sixth batch of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites.

　　During the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Sheng’s opera "The Palace of Eternal Youth" was performed here in the grand theater. After Sun Chengze, many notable figures of the Qing Dynasty resided here, such as Weng Fanggang, Grand Secretary of the Cabinet during the Qianlong reign; Sun Xingyan, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Punishments; and Liu Weitan, known for owning the Jiaxu edition of "Dream of the Red Chamber" with Zhiyanzhai commentary. In the eighth year of the Tongzhi reign (1869), Li Hongzhang, Viceroy of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang, along with his elder brother Li Han Zhang, Viceroy of Huguang, and various commanders of the Huai Army, pooled funds to purchase most of Sun Park and built the Anhui Guild Hall, which was completed in the tenth year of the Tongzhi reign. Unlike other provincial guild halls, the Anhui Guild Hall only accommodated serving prefectural-, county-level officials, and military officers of deputy colonel rank or above. In the 24th year of the Guangxu reign (1898), it served as an activity site for reformists such as Kang Youwei. In the 26th year of the Guangxu reign, the guild hall was occupied by the Eight-Nation Alliance, who established the German military headquarters there, and nearby houses were burned down.

　　Source: Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development